West Ham United

West Ham United

Premier League • England

West Ham submit colossal new offer for Lyon ace, as chances of deal reaching completion emerge

Lucas Paqueta, Porto v Lyon March 2022

West Ham have reportedly put in a huge new bid for Lyon’s Lucas Paqueta, while separate sources have revealed how likely it is for the move to reach completion.

On Wednesday, West Ham put an offer worth £33.7million on the table for Paqueta. And the star’s agent soon travelled to London in an attempt to get the deal over the line.

David Moyes confirmed the Hammers’ proposal for Paqueta the following day. “We have bid for him,” he told a press conference.

The Scot added: “He can play as a number 10, an eight, he plays as a false nine for Brazil quite often. I think his pedigree is really good.

“Pedigree doesn’t always guarantee that it works, but you would hope that it helps towards him possibly getting better.”

Clearly, Moyes is a fan of the 24-year-old. And it comes as little surprise, given the fact he has been one of Lyon’s best performers in recent years.

Last term, while mainly operating as a central attacking midfielder, Paqueta registered 11 goals and 7 assists in 44 matches for the French club.

West Ham have not given up on Paqueta, despite Lyon rejecting their opening bid. According to French newspaper L’Equipe, the west London outfit have upped their price.

West Ham launch new Lucas Paqueta move

They have tabled a new offer worth an eye-watering £48m (€57m). This includes a downpayment of £35m, and the rest in add-ons.

£48m is not a huge fee for clubs such as Manchester City, Manchester United or Chelsea. But it would represent a significant outlay for West Ham.

Their current transfer record is the £45m they spent on Sebastien Haller in summer 2019. If Lyon accept the latest proposal for Paqueta and the Brazilian joins, then he will become West Ham’s new record signing.

L’Equipe adds that Lyon are yet to respond to the new terms, though this will surely happen in the next day or two. The £48m bid isn’t too far from their £50.5m (€60m) asking price, which could see a transfer take place.

However, it is not all good news for West Ham. Sources of The Telegraph claim West Ham and Lyon are not in advanced talks at all.

Instead, they believe there is only a 25 per cent chance of the move reaching completion. This means other outlets could be getting ahead of themselves when reporting on the negotiations.

This is certainly a transfer pursuit to keep an eye on in the next few days. Lyon need to respond to West Ham’s latest bid, while those rather pessimistic sources could yet be proven wrong.

Meanwhile, West Ham have reportedly been given the chance to land an Arsenal midfielder.